FACE family Crêpes
by lishearnest
Summary: In which Arthur Kirkland is determined to cook a wonderful birthday dinner for his husband, Francis Bonnefoy. FRUK, fluffy (First part of my Characters / Word series.)


FACE family + Crêpes

**July 14, 2011**

"Aw bloody hell!" Francis heard from the kitchen door frame, and he chuckled to himself at the all-too familiar scene before him: his husband Arthur Kirkland was frantically running around to open windows and doors so the black smoke bellowing from the oven could clear out quickly. "Stupid online recipe. How was I supposed to know that was the preheat temperature and not the cooking time!? Those things should be more clear" the Englishman was muttering to himself and waving the smoke away from his face.

"Need some help, mon amour?" Francis asked and Arthur froze in his place.

"Francis! You - you're home! Well well, uhhh..." he shut the oven in a rush. "I apologize about this... I was just, well, anywhoo how was your day? Did they do something special for you for your birthday?" Arthur was moving past Francis in the doorway, directing them to their living room where one of their sons, Alfred, was watching TV.

"No, nothing from my colleagues, but there were a few gifts from Antonio and Gilbert on my desk..." Francis answered with a smirk and nodded towards an opaque bag he had just dropped off just inside the door. Arthur responded with an irritated huff and a slight blush. "Oh come on, dear" Francis tested and stepped closer to his husband. "Remember how much you enjoyed their gifts last year?"

"Yuck you two! Take that somewhere else!" Alfred complained from the couch while flipping through channels with the remote.

"Oh dear Alfred," Francis joked, "I guess we can't expect you to understand yet" he winked.

"Well I would hope not" Arthur uttered, already annoyed with his charming husband.

At that moment they heard their second son, Matthew, coming down the stairs to join them. "Happy birthday Papa!" he exclaimed as he handed Francis a small box wrapped in the colors of the French flag.

"How wonderful Matthew! Thank you so much!" He pulled the boy in for a hug. "Now what are our dinner plans?"

"Ummm... about that..." Arthur stuttered and scratched the back of his head. "We're going out to any restaurant of your choice!" Was that good enough? Arthur worried. Sure it was fun to all go out as a family, but for just _once_ he'd like to be able to surprise Francis with a romantic homemade meal!

"Fantastique!" Francis responded. "I tell you what, surprise me! Drive me somewhere and let it be a mystery!"

"Killer Burger it is!" Alfred announced and jumped off the couch to fetch his shoes. Matthew made a fake gagging noise at the suggestion and Alfred gave him a punch on the shoulder as he passed by. "Oh come on Matt, it's not that bad. They even have those little veggie burger things you like for god knows what reason."

"Now now," Arthur inturrupted, "we're not going to _Killer Burger_. I'm choosing because I know what our birthday boy here would like best."

"Oh you sure do~" Francis teased. Alfred and Matthew both groaned in unison at their Papa's usual antics and the four of them headed outside, shutting the front door behind them.

**July 14, 2012**

Arthur sat with Matthew on the bathroom floor and patted him on the back as the boy leaned his head over their toilet. Another year, another disaster. Wonderful.

"Matthew I'm terribly sorry... I should have tested it myself instead of having you do it... it's just that your sense of taste is better than mine and... oh you poor thing I'm so so sorry..."

"It's okay dad" Matthew responded. "You and Papa and Alfie should still go out for dinner."

"Are you sure you'll be okay here by yourself?"

Matthew almost chuckled. "I'm 16 now. I promise I'll be okay home alone." Arthur got chills at the number 16. It sounded much too old! But sure enough his birthday had been just a few weeks earlier, and Alfred had celebrated his 17th that week too! The boys were growing into young adults way too fast, Arthur thought to himself.

"Right then. I guess that's what we'll do. But don't hesitate to ring if you need anything!" Matthew nodded and Arthur stood to walk back into the living room. Alfred was leaning against the couch reading his newest comic book and Francis was just coming in the door from work.

"Good evening everyone!" The Frenchman said with a smile as he dropped an opaque bag by the wall while making devious eye contact with his husband. Arthur scoffed but couldn't help but smile a tad.

"Those friends of yours, I swear..." he muttered.

"Happy birthday pops!" Alfred exclaimed from where he sat. "What's for dinner?" Francis giggled at his son's enthusiasm.

"Well we're going out again this year," Arthur explained, "but it looks like it will be just the three of us. Matthew is at the toilet sick to his stomach" he admitted. "Must have been... something he ate or something..."

"Pfffttt... HA!" Alfred snickered and Arthur shot him a warning glance.

"Oh poor baby!" Francis yelled out. "Is he okay!?"

"Yes yes, he'll be fine. He even said for us to go on without him. I trust he'd be honest if he needed more help."

"Well okay... we can always bring something back for him. Where are we off to?"

Alfred was already heading upstairs to his room to put on nicer clothes - plan B had already been established earlier that day.

"That new French restaurant downtown has been getting wonderful reviews, I was thinking it'd be perfect!"

"Le Table Bleu? Really? But that's so fancy!" Francis responded.

"Nonsense! It's your birthday, we have to celebrate!" Arthur said with an unusually warm smile, placing his hands on his hips and looking his husband in the eyes. 'Next year!' he though to himself. 'I'll find a great recipe and be able to make it for his next birthday. I'll practice it all year so it can be perfect! Mark my words!'

"Blech, French food" Alfred complained sarcastically bouncing back down the stairs.

"Oui mon petit!" Francis turned to answer his son. "And we'll order snails just for you!" Alfred and Arthur both grimaced at the thought and Francis was amused by their faces. They slipped on their shoes and started heading for the door.

"As long as we can bring frog legs back for Matt!"

**July 14, 2013**

This was it. The night he had been planning all year long. Francis would come home any moment now and Arthur was busy putting together the finishing touches in their dining room - like place sets for two and a candle in the center of the table. The food, however, was someone else's responsibility.

"Now dad, they've finished cooking so just pull them out of the oven and put them on your plates when you hear Papa arrive, okay?"

"Yes, I think I can handle that much myself! Thank you so much Matthew dear!"

"Of course, good luck!" Matthew called and left for his own room. It was their little secret that he had helped. As far as Francis was to know, Arthur had finally succeeded in making perfect French style dinner crêpes!

Just as he was filling up the vase of flowers with water, Arthur heard his husband coming through their front door. He pulled their crêpes (salmon and spinach with a spicy lemon sauce) out of the oven, arranged them on their plates, and went to meet Francis in their living room.

Matthew and Alfred were already smothering him with hugs, kisses, and their own gifts. "Happy birthday Papa!" they were shouting together.

Arthur noticed that the usual sinful bag hadn't been brought home this year. He raised his eyebrows at Francis who noticed his curiosity and explained "oh not to worry mon amour, Gilbert and Antonio have something for us as always, it just can't be brought in the usual way. You'll find out why later tonight" he winked, of course.

"UGH seriously!?" Alfred whined. "That's it, I'm staying over at Kiku's tonight."

Arthur was bright red. "Well that's enough of that!" he stammered. "I have my own little surprise for you. This way!" He lead, and Francis followed him into the kitchen. Arthur heard his husband gasp dramatically when he entered and saw their candle lit dining table complete with lilies, red wine, and blue plates to serve the delicious smelling crêpes. Arthur closed the kitchen door behind them.

"My goodness Arthur, this is incredible!"

Arthur smiled to himself. He'd rather die than let anyone know, but he had always been jealous of Francis' sense of style and aesthetics, so knowing that his display pleased the Frenchman brought him impossible joy. He walked over to the table and pulled out a chair. "Please, have a seat" he motioned to the other.

"It would be a pleasure" Francis responded, sitting down. Arthur took the seat opposite his husband and thanked god that it seemed like things were finally going perfectly this year!

"Well, tell me what you think!" Arthur nodded to the plate in front of Francis. His husband smiled and hesitantly cut off a small bite to try.

"Mon Dieu!" he exclaimed. "It's absolutely wonderful!" Warmth swelled up in Arthur's chest and Francis leaned over their table to give him a quick kiss. "I could not have dreamed of anything more." They held eye contact for an unusually long time, but to both of them it felt fantastically comfortable.

At that moment the kitchen door swung open and in came a loud Alfred. Arthur held his breath and tried to glare at him to communicate a silent warning, but his efforts were futile.

"Oh... whoops... uhh sorry but real quick I was just wondering if Matthew made extra crêpes for us too - I'm starving!"

Arthur exhaled and hung his head. "No, Alfred. They were just for us."

"Darn. Well okay then I'm just gonna run to the store and grab something for myself. Have fun!"

Arthur had no clue what to say once Alfred had left again. He didn't even feel like looking up at Francis to see his response. He was so tired of this - of constantly failing. Of never matching up to his husband's charm. Of never feeling like he had anything _special_ to offer the man he loved so much. He was just so frustrated and generally annoyed about it all, and now he had resorted to lying! How childish!

"Oh Arthur" he finally heard the other coo from across the table. "Look up. Look at me, amour." Although difficult, he did. Francis was sporting a sympathetic smile and resting his chin in his palms. "I don't care that this isn't actually your cooking. You don't have to hide that from me to impress me." Arthur blushed - this was so humiliating! "Let's be honest, dear, I didn't exactly marry you for your culinary skills!"

Despite himself, Arthur chuckled at this and Francis laughed with him. Francis continued once the mood had lightened. "I think you sometimes forget that we're in this together. You don't have to hide things or surprise me or prove me wrong about you. We're a team, right? Now, let's put all this behind us and enjoy this wonderful meal prepared for us by our beautiful son, yes?"

And they did - they ate, they laughed, they reminisced, they danced, and they loved. (And Matthew regretted not staying over at a friend's house that night like Alfred.)

The End!


End file.
